Too often people complain that their back hurts around the shoulder blades. Excessive work, long sitting or work related to moving heavy objects are attributed to them stopping a visit to the doctor.
However, any pain can indicate the presence of serious diseases of the spine, which threatens the development of complications.
The main reasons
Spinal pain around the shoulder blades is explained by the fact that this is where a large number of receptors are located that respond to any pathological change. Inflammatory process increases the production of leukocytes, edema occurs, the nerve endings contract, causing pain.
When the back hurts in the lumbar region, shoulder blades, the possibility of a disease that requires a therapeutic course is not ruled out. It often causes severe pain in important organs such as the heart and lungs.
Aggravation occurs under the influence of provoking factors - posture disorder, excess weight, lack of physical activity. If your back hurts below the shoulder blades, it could be one of the symptoms of a stomach ulcer.
Most often, the root cause is disease, injury, psychological state of the person.
Do not try to eliminate the unpleasant symptom with your own hands, using various tinctures and ointments. It is necessary to determine the reasons why the back hurts around the shoulder blades, for which you will need to see a doctor and be examined.
Injuries to the scapula
This bone is located on the side of the spinal column, is protected by many muscles, and in very rare cases is injured. Its damage is often combined with a rib fracture, so a timely diagnosis is not always possible.
In this case the victim feels severe pain around the shoulder blades, sometimes bleeding and the development of shoulder hemarthrosis are possible.The cause of the injury is a fall, a car accident, a blow.
If your back hurts below or above the shoulder blades, redness and swelling appear, you should see a doctor immediately. It can be an inflammation of the synovial sac, which is often accompanied by a convulsion, a feeling of heaviness.
Dislocation, or rather the displacement of the shoulder bone and scapula relative to each other, is another reason why the back may ache around the shoulder blades. Injuries occur with a loud bang of the arm during a blow. Dislocation of the scapula does not allow active movement of the upper limb.
Strong pain is felt on palpation. Visually, the asymmetry of the shoulder blades is clearly visible, one of them has a noticeable rash on the edge of the neck.
Intervertebral hernia
It is the name of a degenerative disease accompanied by deformation and destruction of the fibrous ring. Any part of the spine is susceptible to pathology.
If the back hurts below the shoulder blades, it could be a sign of a lumbar intervertebral hernia. A chest hernia causes a variety of symptoms.
The most common of them:
- Pain between shoulder blades that increases sharply during coughing or physical exertion. Its nature is different - it can be both dull and severe back pain.
- Paresthesia.
- Shortness of breath, difficulty breathing.
- Muscle weakness, hand lifting problems.
The intensity of the symptoms depends on the size of the hernia and the stage of the disease.
Osteomyelitis
Painful pain between the shoulder blades can be a sign of osteomyelitis. This is the name of a purulent infection that affects the bone tissue.
This disease is usually very complicated. The tissues above the bone are thin enough that symptoms appear immediately at the site of injury. The main sign of pathology is the presence of a purulent wound, swelling of soft tissues with hyperemia. The person complains that the back hurts around the shoulder blades, sometimes it is accompanied by chills, the body temperature rises and the pulse speeds up.
There are several types of this pathology. Osteomyelitis, which occurs when bacteria enter bone tissue through the bloodstream, is called hematogenous. Its acute form is most commonly found in children and adolescents.
Environmentally penetrating microorganisms cause exogenous osteomyelitis. The reason for this is a wound, trauma or open fracture. When purulent lesions move from the soft tissues to the bone, they speak of a contact form of the disease.
Scoliosis
One of the most common causes of back pain around the shoulder blades is scoliosis of the thoracic segment of the spine. Given that this section connects to the ribs, there is a deformity of the chest.
In addition to the main symptom when the back hurts below the shoulder blades and above the waist, there should be increased fatigue, varying levels of the shoulders.
Diagnosis is made only by X-ray. When the scene passes, the back almost constantly aches around the spine.
Osteochondrosis
Spinal pain around the shoulder blades is the main symptom of osteochondrosis when the upper part of the spinal column is subject to degenerative processes. The disease is often confused with pneumonia, tuberculosis.
An experienced neurologist will diagnose osteochondrosis with several cumulative signs. The localization of the pain syndrome depends on the part in which the nerve endings are stretched. Therefore, distinguish between left and right side pathology.
If your back hurts around the shoulder blades, you should definitely get examined so that treatment can be started at an early stage. This provides faster recovery.
Spondylarthrosis
This is the so-called polyetiological disease, which is often associated with osteochondrosis, intervertebral hernia and spondylosis. Spondyloarthritis is an arthrosis that damages the intervertebral joints and develops due to injuries, congenital malformations, excessive overload.
Suspicion of pathology causes pain in the back below the shoulder blades, which occurs for no apparent reason, especially when the weather changes, when moving. The advanced stage is defined by a characteristic convulsion.
Subdiaphragmatic abscess
It is the name of a rare but serious complication after inflammation that catches the abdomen. The main symptoms are burning in the back, especially around the shoulder blades, shortness of breath, hyperthermia, cough.
In addition to the fact that the back pain is localized below the shoulder blades, it can also move to the right hypochondrium.
Diseases of the internal organs
If the back hurts too much around the shoulder blades, this may lead to suspicion of existing diseases of the heart, bronchopulmonary system and gastrointestinal tract.
Therefore, these symptoms should not be ignored.. Attention should be paid immediately to the pain attracted, especially chest pain, which hides coronary heart disease and other equally serious diseases of the internal organs. It is important to start diagnosis and treatment on time.
Intercostal neuralgia
The cause of the phenomenon, when it burns around the shoulder blades, there is a feeling that the back is burning, often intercostal neuralgia.
Unpleasant symptoms are created due to pathological changes that affect the spine, causing compression of the intercostal nerves.
During neuralgia, the pain occurs at the level of the shoulder blades and has different intensities. They may worsen with coughing or deep breathing.
Psychological problems
Back pain under the shoulder blades often occurs for psychological reasons. The patient feels compression and tingling, feels a sense of anxiety and unexplained fear. The pain may spread to the right arm, neck.
Diagnosis
Often, back pain under the shoulder of the shoulder is the result of professional activities. Drivers, drivers, tailors, athletes, designers are people whose work is related to the daily tension of the spinal muscles.
When the first symptoms appear, you should consult a doctor and undergo an examination.When the disease is detected in time and treatment is started in time, many serious complications can be avoided.
If your back hurts around the shoulder blades, your doctor will prescribe modern diagnostic methods, including X-rays, computed tomography, and ultrasound.
It is almost impossible to determine the exact cause of pain independently. Delaying a visit to the doctor is extremely risky, given that it can often occur with a heart attack.
Treatment
What to do if your back hurts around the shoulder blades? Do not forget that the cause of such a symptom can be a variety of pathologies. Therefore treatment should be prescribed only by a doctor and carried out under his supervision.
Traumatic and articular origins of pain require specific clinical therapy that includes:
- Anti-inflammatory drugs. Painful sensations are effectively removed with the help of corticosteroids, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. They can be used externally by applying ointments recommended by a doctor around the shoulder blades or by injection. Combining these methods allows you to achieve the best results.
- Chondroprotectors. They are used to treat the scapular area of the spine when the pain is caused by an intervertebral hernia, a protrusion. Preparations containing mucopolysaccharides, glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate will help improve cartilage tissue nutrition and its elasticity.
- Physiotherapy. With joint tissue damage, physiotherapy procedures show good results.The most popular shock wave technique in which infrared acts on body tissues. It can destroy bone growths, improve blood circulation, which leads to increased cartilage nutrition, reduces muscle tone and prevents pain in the shoulder blades. In addition, electrophoresis, massage, paraffin use and manual therapy are widely used.
If a vertebrogenic cause of pain is identified, warming compresses using a solution of dimethyl sulfoxide, turpentine, and alcohol will be effective. By improving blood circulation, muscle spasm is relieved and pain is reduced.
Folk remedies can be used for pain in the groin, but they perform only an auxiliary function.
Prevention
To avoid such an unpleasant symptom as back pain around the shoulder blades, following certain rules will help you.
This requires:
- Eat right. Lack of micronutrients necessary for cartilage tissue leads to degeneration of intervertebral discs.
- Maintain the correct posture. Uneven load on the spine is one of the first causes of pain.
- Move more. This helps to avoid excessive muscle tone, normalizing blood circulation. Useful for walking in the fresh air, sports, gymnastics.
We should not forget to undergo regular medical examinations, thanks to which it is possible to detect any pathology at an early stage of development.